Here's what I want to know: what's up with the Eastern Europeans and their winter clothes?
I should say their layers of winter clothes.
Do you see those two ladies?
We stared at each other for two hours yesterday in the Kiev airport. And during that time, I shed my light-weight coat, then a sweater, and eventually untucked my shirt to get a little air. Those ladies never removed anything. They didn't wipe a sweat. They sat there.
By the way, the Kiev Airport is #2 on my list of the world shittiest airports. Chennai, as you remember, is #1.
And here's another question: why so much heat? Why?
At first, I thought it was me. But then I looked around and other international travelers were miserable. One guy had shed everything down to an undershirt. Not the locals. They just sat there. Fully clothed and ready for I don't know what.
Here's a word of caution for anyone that might be traveling through the Frankfurt airport: I WOULD NOT. EVER. IF POSSIBLE.
What a nightmare. I had 45 minutes between my connection. That meant a haul through immigration, a couple of zig zags around shopping, down three flights of stairs, through security (ridiculously slow!), down a long corridor, up three flights of stairs, down another corridor, and finally onto the plane. I sat down, the door closed, and we left. Just about that quickly.
"You must be the guy they've been paging forever," said the guy next to me.
I guess I was. And I was sweating again.
Frankfurt, you're #3 on the list.
***
Now in Berlin. I've been out this morning to see the sites - a history lesson on the iron curtain, communism, and all that. Here's a look.
Like many things, Checkpoint Charlie (the one place where traffic could pass from East to West), has become mostly a tourist destination. The city of Berlin is planning a new park/memorial that will be opened next year - 50 years after the wall was constructed. Pieces of the wall are scattered about the city now, and seems to be mostly a backdrop for photographs. I can't tell East from West. And I guess that's a good thing. The 200 year-old Brandenburg Gate (the last picture) has become the symbol of the unified Germany.
Readers have been asking about Berlin (only two, but it sounded good ;-)
Is it as good as Paris? And How's Berlin? I hear it's a great city.
Here's the answer:
1.) No way.
2.) Too soon to answer. I'll give it a chance, and get back to you tomorrow.